Any ideas on how to keep the JCW red disk calipers clean apart from the usual times the car would be washed?

 

Have some CarboTech Bobcat pads made...

 

Wash it at unusual times.

 

autozone (or any autoparts store) has brake caliper cleaners, it's just a solvent that you spray with a tiny tiny straw tip for accuracy (like wd40 bottle)
over the brake parts, takes MUCH dust off and cleans rotor...
Gotta do it when the car is perfectly dry though, or else it does squat.

- also, griots garage sells specific wheel/brake washing/cleaning brushes, I have a little white one that is like a popsicle basically, it jabs real easily in between wheel spokes and cleans all the parts that I just can't reach with my hand !!

those are your best options, short of always taking the wheel OFF...

 

spray wheel cleaner and a little scrub. , if the product is right it should help. I use industrial products and own a professional detail shop.

nothing beats popping the wheels off every now and then for a real cleaning.

 

Since you're looking for the "off-time" quick cleaning, just stop at a pressure washer.

We use a little 1800 psi electric pressure washer at my bodyshop to get compound and stuff out the cracks. Point is, I use it to wash my car and it works great to keep the calipers looking clean. I don't even use a cleansing agent, just pressure. You should see the amount of black brake soot that pours out from pressure washing your calipers.

It's so much, I had to stop washing my car in my bare feet. I'd get black caliper dust all over my feet and look like a 5 y/o who just got out of playing in the mud.

 

mark, you arent a 5 year old? my calipers arent red, but they stay dirty... brake cleaner works great tho!

 

Your local self-wash facility should have pressure sprayers.

 

You can't really use brake part cleaner on painted calipers. It's not that you can't, it's just a little harsh.

If your calipers are the stock metal without paint, then brake part cleaner probably works excellent.

Mark

PS. Don't know if I'm 5 y/o but I know I'm smarter than a 5 y/o. (I think)

 

Thats what I do....try to remove the wheels and give it a good cleaning. I also wax the calipers when the wheels are off. If you do the deep cleaning they are pretty easy to keep clean. I just put HAWL pads on and they are pretty good.

Also I found that brake cleaner is prety rough on the paint surface after a while...takes off the shine, but workes great.

 

I actually waxed them when I did the wheels when I first got the JCW. Makes cleaning them now much easier. I use the same cleaning swabs that I use to clean my rifles. Soap and water leaves them bright and shiny.

You can find the swabs I was talking about at Midwayusa.com under cleaning products.

 

Change the brake pads, you know how notorious bmw brakes are for releasing brake dust

 

Do you mean Hawk? If so, I strongly agree. I had Hawk pads on my last MINI for yeeeeeaaars. They're amazing. Very VERY low dust. Not even a quarter of the dust produced by the stock pads.

 

Yep..sorry type-o....

 

Can you guys post up the Hawk brake pads part# for our JCWs and site/store where you bought them?

I've just about had it with these brake pads. In this weather, I can't clean the wheels each week. Its about 4 weeks since its last wash and the whole car looks disgusting, nothing I can do in below freezing temps and as a daily driver :(

I hope this salt isn't eating away car components. Who the heck knows what they're putting in this salt mixture. This can't be good for the streams and rivers. This white residue is EVERYWHERE.

 

Two of our MINIs have red calipers. Here's my formula for keeping them clean:

Hawk ceramic pads. Low dust.

Griot's wheel cleaner. Give the calipers a couple of strategically placed shots every time I wash the car.

After the wheel cleaner spray, wait about a minute and then give them a light brushing with an old toothbrush.

I painted the first set of them almost a year ago and they still look as good as the day they were first done.

 

Best solution is to park her in the garage and not drive at all. Hermetically seal your garage and she will be perfect.

 

I bought them from here.........
http://www.fastmini.net/hapecebrpa.html

They are much much less dust than OEM pads.